The invention relates to refrigeration appliances and, in particular, to improvements in bottom-mount freezer compartments.
A popular style of household refrigerator has an upper refrigerated compartment or chamber with one or two vertically hinged doors and a lower drawer-like freezer compartment that slides open. Bearings are often used to facilitate sliding action of the freezer basket in and out of the freezer compartment. The location of these bearings in the freezer compartment makes lubrication problematic since the low temperature environment can increase viscosity and, therefore, decrease the effectiveness of a lubricant. There is a need for a sliding support for the freezer basket and door that is not affected by the low temperatures of the freezer compartment.
In the case of a new refrigerator, it is customary to remove the doors of the appliance unit in order to facilitate the delivery of the unit to a residence where, frequently, doors and corridors are too narrow to allow a fully assembled appliance unit to pass. Disassembly and then reassembly of the doors are performed by delivery personnel of the newly purchased appliance unit. This door removal and reassembly add to the cost of delivery. It is desirable, therefore, that doors are easily removed and replaced with a minimum requirement of skill and labor and, preferably, without tools.